“THE FIRST MONTH living at our new home, it feels like a dream come true.”
When things are meant to happen, they can often surprise you with just how quickly they happen. That was the case for Martina and André Sances Ferreira who are the new owners of a home in the Farranshock Park community in Mullingar.
Having been on the market for a home, Farranshock Park caught their eyes, and it’s easy to see why. Located within walking distance of Mullingar, Co Westmeath, residents have everything they need on their doorstep.
We wanted to live in Mullingar, then Farranshock Park appeared to us at the right time,” said Martina.
“We were delighted to see that a new development was being built in the town where we wanted to live. We were even happier when we opened the virtual tour as the size and style of the house were ideal for us,” she added.
Brought to the market by Glenveagh, one of Ireland’s leading home builders, this community consists of spacious two and three-bedroom units, each one with a minimum A-rating on the BER scale. This is achieved by using the latest technology and advanced building materials to ensure a warm and well-insulated home.
Prices at Farranshock Park start from €360,000 for three bedroom semi-detached homes.
With many in the same boat as Martina and Andre, deciding to move into a newly-built community, it’s easy to make connections with new neighbours.
We are all in the same boat – a whole new community of people moving into the one area. Mullingar has lots to offer and we love how we can just walk out of the estate and within five minutes we are in the town with lots of things to do. It’s a very vibrant town,” said Martina.
Buying with Glenveagh is more than just a simple transaction. They help you along every step of the move, offering friendly advice and support when needed. This was reassuring for Martina and Andre, who were purchasing their first home.
Glenveagh kept in touch throughout and sent us emails as each stage of the house purchase was complete. We also had a walk-through after we received our keys to explain to us how everything in the house worked. Glenveagh also hosted an evening in Bank of Ireland in Mullingar to give people a chance to meet and talk to the selling agent Savills and meet some representatives from Glenveagh, BOI etc., so it was a good chance to ask questions and meet other potential buyers in Farranshock,” explained Martina.
“We were also assured that we would have our keys before Christmas 2023, and we most certainly did! Everything was delivered on time,” Martina added.
Mullingar itself is superbly located in the heart of Ireland. Transport connections are just one of the many positives offered by the location, with the M6 allowing access to Dublin within an hour, and Galway within 90 minutes. Buyers can also avail of the fast and frequent Dublin-Longford Commuter or Dublin-Sligo InterCity rail services from Mullingar Station.
For Martina and Andre, it was an easy decision to put down roots in Farranshock Park.
To sum it up, it was a quick process and more straightforward than we ever would have imagined. We had seen Farranshock Park on Daft.ie but didn’t think we would be able to afford a new house. Once we got to the mortgage approval stage though, our broker explained how much we potentially could borrow and then we got in contact with the selling agent who quickly responded to us saying that there were a couple of houses left. We decided to go for it and put down a deposit, it all happened so quickly! The following days we were visiting the area, walking around the place, and imagining what it would be like living here. We got amazing support from our mortgage broker – New Star Financial Management, which made the process so much easier and stress-free,” said Martina.
Another attractive aspect of Farranshock Park is that it is perfect for first-time buyers as it qualifies for both the First Home Scheme and the Help to Buy Scheme.
Let’s take a three-bed property in Farranshock Park as an example of how you can avail of both schemes together. The home purchase price is €360,000 and first-time buyers are required to have a deposit of 10% of the property value.
With the Help to Buy scheme, you can get a maximum of €30,000 towards your deposit, meaning the remaining deposit is only €6,000. This means the total mortgage needed to purchase the home would be €324,000. For more information on the Help to Buy scheme, check out Glenveagh’s site.
The First Home scheme can bridge any difference between the deposit and the mortgage up to the value of 20% of the property price (when used in conjunction with the Help to Buy scheme).
Under the current central bank rules, mortgages can account for up to four times the gross salary of applicants. For a couple with a combined salary of €65,000, that equals €260,000. If we combine the deposit and the maximum approved mortgage, this still leaves us with a shortfall of €64,000 compared to the purchase price.
This is where the First Home Scheme comes in, by providing that €64,000 in return for a 17.7% equity share in the property.
With the First Home scheme, there is no charge for the first 5 years, and a maintenance charge is applied after that. For more information, check out Glenveagh’s site.
“We availed of Help to Buy,” said Martina.
Being able to do this all online makes it so much easier. We just followed the steps on Revenue, and we knew within days how much we would receive. This was a huge help as without this money, we would have struggled. We would have had nothing left after paying the 10% deposit,” she added.
Since making the move to Farranshock Park, Martina and Andre couldn’t be happier.
“We are delighted. It has been better than we imagined, as in such a short time we became homeowners. It is still unbelievable, and every day we think of how we can explore something new related to the house. It has been a fantastic journey, and we are settling in very well,” Martina said.
For further information on Farranshock Park and to register your interest, click here.
Farranshock Park is brought to you by Glenveagh, one of Ireland’s leading community builders.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say